Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Tea Description
This organic, Fair Trade Certified tea offers a delicious synergy between excellent North Indian tea and rich, creamy vanilla. Organic vanilla beans were added in the Fall of 2008 to make this blend even more decadent than before! Excellent with milk, this tea is great for dessert. We recommend adding a bit of sugar or honey to satisfy a sweet tooth. This Vanilla Black Tea, as with all of our flavored blends, uses only the highest quality teas, essential oils and botanical ingredients, insuring an excellent cup every time!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Even though I don’t usually get too excited over a vanilla tea, I do consider vanilla to be among my favorite tea flavorings. There’s just something so irresistible about a good cup of vanilla tea – so rich, smooth and creamy!
And this is a good vanilla tea! The black tea base is strong but not what I’d call aggressive. It is earthy and pleasant tasting, and there is a hint of bitterness toward mid-sip. This is not that “oh no, I oversteeped the tea” kind of bitterness, but instead, it is a savory note that offers a contrast to the sweetness from the organic vanilla bean.
And while this IS a rich and creamy vanilla tea, it isn’t quite as creamy as some other vanilla teas that I’ve tried. Don’t get me wrong, I love a smooth and creamy, decadent tasting vanilla tea, but sometimes, its nice to find one that is a bit more focused on the black tea than the vanilla, like this one is. I think that this would be the ideal vanilla tea for those who typically find vanilla teas to be too cloying, because this one isn’t too sweet or creamy or anything verging near “cloying” at all.
Barely a hint of astringency, I don’t know if that’s the work of the vanilla there, smoothing out the astringency of the tea … but I just know that I hardly notice astringency as I sip. Aftertaste is softly sweet.
A lovely cuppa.
Green Earl Grey Tea from Revolution Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Revolution Tea
Tea Description:
Made from Organic Chinese Sencha, this blend will forever change the way you perceive green tea. An exciting, original flavor, featuring notes of Italian Bergamot, Green Earl Grey is a hearty, refreshing pick-me-up with all the health benefits of green tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
My first couple of sips of this tea, I was a little unsure. I was afraid that maybe I hadn’t steeped it long enough. It tasted very weak. But, after a few moments (I’d say around three minutes) of allowing the cup to cool, the flavors really began to emerge.
Generally speaking, I tend to be somewhat skeptical when it comes to non-black Earl Grey teas. There’s something about the unique flavor of bergamot that just goes so well with the flavor of black tea and it doesn’t seem to pair as well with green teas. But, I’m liking this. It has a pleasing citrus note that accents the sweet, fresh taste of the green tea.
There is a well-defined floral note as well, perhaps even more distinguished here with this Green Earl Grey than with a typical black Earl Grey. I don’t know if this is due to the fact that the green tea has a slight floral note of its own, or if the natural flowery notes of the bergamot are able to express themselves more freely with the lighter flavor of the green tea … or perhaps a combination of the two. Either way, it’s quite lovely, sweet and exotic, without tasting soapy.
This is definitely a different approach to Earl Grey. It is lighter and crisper, but with that familiar bergamot zing! I like it, although I can’t say that I prefer it over the classic Earl Grey. However, for times when I want something bright and zesty, this would certainly fill the bill.
Jasmine Green Tea from Little Red Cup Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Little Red Cup Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Jasmine Green Tea comes in many styles – loose leaf, rolled into small balls, even hand-bound into large balls that open into a sort of tea-flower. We offer a fine, loose-leaf Jasmine Green Tea, one that produces a brew of a lovely yellow hue with a powerful jasmine scent. For us, Jasmine Green Tea is an all-day treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve had this tea for a little while now, having tried the other two teas that I acquired from Little Red Cup Tea Co., but hanging on to this one … why? I don’t know. Mostly I think because it was put in a place that I don’t normally go looking for tea, so it was sort of forgotten until I came across it the other day.
I think another reason I held off on trying this Jasmine Green tea is that I’m rather picky when it comes to Jasmine Tea. Yes, I love jasmine tea, and there are many jasmine teas out there that I’ve quite enjoyed. But, there are some jasmine teas that are just … not good. And given my impression of this company’s Bai Mu Dan, which was good, but not great, I was just a wee bit worried that my experience with the Jasmine tea might be equal to … or possibly worse than that experience. Interestingly enough, though, of the three teas that I’ve tried from this company (the other tea was this Keemun), this one has been the best!
The overall cup is actually quite pleasant, with a green tea base that is smooth and even a little bit creamy, with lovely notes of jasmine. The aroma – while soft – is quite intoxicating.
I very much enjoyed this jasmine. It reminds me of the jasmine teas that I’ve had at fine Chinese restaurants. The jasmine is not sharp or bitter, and the mouthfeel is soft and silky. And I love that this is a Fair Trade Certified, Organic tea. Overall, this tea makes for a truly lovely jasmine tea experience.
Earl Grey from Foxfire Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Foxfire Teas
Tea Description:
A special blend of this popular black tea; marvelous citrus aroma with a nice body | ORGANIC-FAIR TRADE
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh happy day! I just love Earl Grey!
I generally love most Earl Grey teas that I’ve tried. There have been a few rare exceptions. But I’ve definitely enjoyed more than I’ve disliked, and quite often, I find one that makes me really happy. Like this one!
The bergamot is really smooth. This is like the smooth-talking Mr. Grey. While many Earl Grey teas can have a sort of sharpness to them, this one does not. From the very first moment that the sip touches the palate, it is nothing but smooth. It is so smooth, it is almost reminiscent of an Earl Grey Creme … but without the vanilla and/or cream flavoring. It is definitely bergamot all the way, and while the bergamot is definitely tangy (as it usually is) it just doens’t taste sharp. There are no soapy notes, nothing that tastes like it’s even close to verging on perfume. Just smooth, sweet yet tangy fruit tones from the bergamot with very few of the floral tones that often accompany it.
The black tea is so rich and full-flavored. It is smooth to match the smooth quality of the bergamot. It is a delicious and robust tea, but it isn’t overwhelmingly bold – it does not need to overpower the bergamot. In fact, I find the two components to be very well matched, and they work together quite well to create a very harmonious flavor.
If you like Earl Grey, you should do yourself a favor and try this one. It’s excellence in a teacup!
Organic Thai Iced Tea Blend from Arbor Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Arbor Teas
Tea Description:
Thai Tea (also known as Thai Iced Tea) is a popular drink hailing from Thailand, commonly found in Thai restaurants across the US. Our Organic and Fair Trade Certified Thai Iced Tea is a traditional blend of strong black tea, vanilla bean, cardamom and anise. It can be enjoyed hot or cold with a twist of lime as a self drinker (without milk). Or it can be brewed to create a traditional, restaurant-style Thai Iced Tea when combined with ice, milk and sugar!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
If any of you have read my foodie reviews for various Thai restaurants in the Portland area, you are probably already aware of my fondness of Thai Iced Tea. In fact, now that I think about it, Thai Iced Tea is probably the first real tea that I fell in love with, because I had discovered it long before I started on my journey with tea in general, and for me, Thai Iced Tea was love at first sip.
So when I was asked to try Arbor Teas’ new Organic Thai Iced Tea Blend, I was excited!
The leaves and spices are very finely cut. This is perhaps the finest tea leaf cut I’ve seen, it is almost like dust. The dry leaf smells delicious, with notes of anise, cardamom and vanilla tantalizing my olfactory nerves. Because of the fine chop on these leaves, I recommend being careful when you measure it … a little goes a long way!
I brewed my first pot of this to try as a hot tea, because I personally think that all teas should at least be tried hot. It has been my experience that chilling often mutes some of the flavor of the tea, so I think to try it properly, all tea should be tasted hot first. Then I brewed more at an intensified strength so that I could add either sweetened condensed milk or coconut milk to it to try it traditional Thai Iced Tea style.
Served hot, this tea is really tasty. It has a good, strong black tea base which gives me a lot of hope for the iced tea version, because one of my biggest complaints about some of the restaurant Thai Iced Teas that I’ve had lately is that the black tea seems weak and is overpowered by the thick, creamy sweetened condensed milk. It is still tasty as a sweet, latte style iced tea, but, I found myself missing the black tea flavor in those other Thai iced teas, the strength of this black tea gives me reason to believe that I will TASTE the black tea in the iced tea I’ll be enjoying over the next day or two.
The spices are also accounted for in this hot cup, with the vanilla providing a sweet, creamy taste that accents the warmth of the cardamom and the zesty anise. This isn’t an overly spiced blend, I think that the spices are in good balance with the black tea and will make a stunning iced tea!
I went on to brew some double strength tea for the fridge. Tomorrow, I’ll be sipping on Thai Iced Tea! I can’t wait!
~The Next Day~
This is really good served as a traditional Thai Iced Tea. I first tried it with coconut milk, which gave it a nice creamy taste and a hint of tropical flair. But I must admit that I prefer it with a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk. Not a lot of milk, but just enough to give it that sweet, creamy taste that you’d find in a Thai restaurant. YUM!
Since I brewed this at double strength, I thought I’d do a little experimentation. I had some ginger ale in the fridge, so I decided to add a little bit of ginger ale to the glass before I poured the iced tea, and held off on the milk. This made for a very interesting “soda-like” taste. It was not quite as carbonated as a soda, but, it had a little bit of carbonation to it, and a sweet, crisp taste that was a little citrus-y, a little ginger-y and very refreshing. I could still taste all the elements of the tea, and it managed to cut through some of the sweeter elements of the soda that I often find to be a bit much for me. It was – to me – a perfect alternative to the traditional soda pop.